Christmas church services

[RedHeadGal]

Originally Posted by Tex

Personally, I would love to see a Halloween choir performance in Sacrament Meeting.

Actually, one of the morning services I attended recently at the Episcopal church was at Halloween, for All Saints' Day. It was quite inspirational, I thought. It was also a reminder again on how we seem to miss the boat with the holidays sometimes. I know we don't treat those saints the same way, but the tradition it follows is a worthy one, I think.

[RedHeadGal]

I appreciate your responses. I guess what I am getting at is that I feel a void in my church, even more so as I get older. Christmas is one time where much of the Christian world gets out there and goes to church, and my church just zooms on by it, largely like it's just another day. I guess I'm not used to attending other churches because mine isn't open. If your ward or stake or something had a Christmas Eve fireside or program, would you be interested? Or are you content to keep to your own way of doing things?

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by RedHeadGal

I appreciate your responses. I guess what I am getting at is that I feel a void in my church, even more so as I get older. Christmas is one time where much of the Christian world gets out there and goes to church, and my church just zooms on by it, largely like it's just another day. I guess I'm not used to attending other churches because mine isn't open. If your ward or stake or something had a Christmas Eve fireside or program, would you be interested? Or are you content to keep to your own way of doing things?

I agree with RHG.

Now I hate doing this, but a few decades ago when I was in Germany, I could note that the softness and tenderness which I usually associate with the spirit of Christmas was absent, except for the month of December. A discernible difference permeated the air.

And Germans do not commercialize Christmas as we here do. I appreciated that. The ministers put forth their best efforts to bring meaningful discussions, and I felt better about it.

Our ward does a nice job, really it does, but it is ward specific. Nonetheless I often feel isolated by the superficiality of the season, despite the efforts of others.

[myboynoah]

Originally Posted by Archaea

That is a surprise and quite rude.

Our ward program was choir based and quite good. We have several professional singers in our ward, so some of the music can be quite amazing. As an aside, Sister Gladys Knight is in our stake and has performed for our ward from time to time. We have others who perform in Nashville or in Vegas. And I suppose that is not the norm but it makes for some great music.

Yeah, my wife was saying that she has heard some of the wards in Nashville put on very good musical programs. Makes me wonder why we don't have more blues-themed musical programs here in Memphis. Or even some Elvis stuff.

[FarrahWaters]

Originally Posted by RedHeadGal

Sounds nice, more like what I would have liked to hear, although I don't necessarily need it to be music-centered. I guess some kind of cohesive Christmas message would have been nice. I don't know why that person would have changed the poem without talking to you about it. It wasn't Mike, was it?

No, it wasn't Mike. I suppose the guy could have been offended by the text of the poem. However, he had a week to tell me so, in which case I could have assigned it to someone else. Perhaps he didn't know that I had to turn in the entire program to the bishop (lyrics, poem, scriptures, even names of the people reading passages) for approval beforehand. (That could have been because I tried to sneak a song sung in Latin into the program last year.)

Originally Posted by RedHeadGal

I appreciate your responses. I guess what I am getting at is that I feel a void in my church, even more so as I get older. Christmas is one time where much of the Christian world gets out there and goes to church, and my church just zooms on by it, largely like it's just another day. I guess I'm not used to attending other churches because mine isn't open. If your ward or stake or something had a Christmas Eve fireside or program, would you be interested? Or are you content to keep to your own way of doing things?

I might be interested in attending a Christmas Eve program. It sounds like a potentially nice family tradition.

[myboynoah]

Originally Posted by RedHeadGal

I appreciate your responses. I guess what I am getting at is that I feel a void in my church, even more so as I get older. Christmas is one time where much of the Christian world gets out there and goes to church, and my church just zooms on by it, largely like it's just another day. I guess I'm not used to attending other churches because mine isn't open. If your ward or stake or something had a Christmas Eve fireside or program, would you be interested? Or are you content to keep to your own way of doing things?

That would be frustrating. When faced with a similar situation in another ward, we asserted ourselves and orgnized some more "Christ-centered" Christmas celebrations. I hope it was appreciated.

I'm pretty happy with my current ward's level of Christmas celebration. We had a very good Christmas Party and the program was nice yesterday. I would probably skip a Christmas Eve meeting since we have that covered as a family.

I do agree that we could learn from other traditions. I always liked the idea of Palm Sunday as a good way to begin Easter celebration.

[Tex]

Originally Posted by FarrahWaters

Did he feel the need to censor me?

Have you spoken to him about it? While what he did on the face of it seems quite rude, maybe there was a misunderstanding of some sort.

Originally Posted by RedHeadGal

Actually, one of the morning services I attended recently at the Episcopal church was at Halloween, for All Saints' Day. It was quite inspirational, I thought. It was also a reminder again on how we seem to miss the boat with the holidays sometimes. I know we don't treat those saints the same way, but the tradition it follows is a worthy one, I think.

I don't think there are many anymore who think of Halloween as a religious holiday.

[myboynoah]

Originally Posted by FarrahWaters

No, it wasn't Mike. I suppose the guy could have been offended by the text of the poem. However, he had a week to tell me so, in which case I could have assigned it to someone else. Perhaps he didn't know that I had to turn in the entire program to the bishop (lyrics, poem, scriptures, even names of the people reading passages) for approval beforehand. (That could have been because I tried to sneak a song sung in Latin into the program last year.)

So what was the poem? And what poem did he opt for?

[myboynoah]

Originally Posted by Tex

I don't think there are many anymore who think of Halloween as a religious holiday.

But All Saints Day is. The French take the whole week off.

[FarrahWaters]

Originally Posted by myboynoah

So what was the poem? And what poem did he opt for?

I don't know the poem he read.
This is the one I sent him:

Hymn on the Nativity of my Saviour

I sing the birth, was born tonight,
The author both of life, and light;
The angels so did sound it;
And like the ravished shepherds said,
Who saw the light, and were afraid,
Yet searched and true they found it.

The Son of God, the Eternal King,
That did us all salvation bring,
And freed the soul from danger;
He whom the whole world could not take,
The Word, which heaven and earth did make;
Was laid now in a manger.

The Father's wisdom willed it so,
The Son's obedience knew no no,
Both wills were in one stature;
And as that Wisdom had decreed,
The Word was now made Flesh indeed,
And took on Him our nature.

What comfort by Him do we win,
Who made Himself the price of sin,
To make us heirs of glory?
To see this babe, all innocence;
A martyr born in our defense;
Can man forget this story?

Ben Jonson
(1573-1637)